By Alizabeth Newman, Executive Director of Alumni Engagement
The CUNY City Counseling Program‘s Fall Conference on November 16, 2018, brought together more than forty staff members representing seventeen elected official offices and four community-based organizations to consider the most pressing legal needs of New Yorkers. Those gathered heard from three CUNY Law alumni attorneys: Julia Hernandez, ’12, on family law; Elizabeth Cordoba, ’11, on immigration; and Phil Azachi, ’12, on housing issues. Staffers and community organizers shared stories from their constituents and the room considered how best to respond directly to legal needs in our communities. The conference looked ahead to plans for 2019 and discussed the need to collaborate, share resources, and stay in contact.
In direct response to New Yorkers’ need for quick, reliable, and affordable legal advice and counseling, as shared by staff members representing elected officials and local nonprofits, the CUNY City Counseling Program is launching a new resource space to share experiences, knowledge and best practices.
The CUNY Law City Counseling GoogleGroup is where we’ll continue the dialogue and help meet the need for legal advice and counseling. Like any other resource bank, it’s made more powerful when more members join and add their expertise, so we hope you’ll connect with us. We feel that every New Yorker deserves to be counseled on their rights and well-represented in court regardless of means or income and this initiative is just one way we’re making it happen.
If you are an admitted CUNY Law alumni with more than four years direct services experience, expertise to share, and are interested in joining our program as an attorney delivering legal assistance, please email Lisa Reiner, CLRN Associate Director at Lisa.Reiner@law.cuny.edu.
To join the GoogleGroup follow the link above and click “apply to group.” Staff members at the office of an elected official or members of a non-profit organization looking to discuss how the CUNY City Counseling Program can support your legal needs can contact Raquel Batista, City Counseling Program Coordinator at raquel.batista@law.cuny.edu.